Brussels, 18/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Commission President José Manuel Barroso opened the fourth European Film Festival in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, on 17 November. In his speech, the president pointed out the importance of culture - and hence cinema - as a vector and facilitator of exchanges between peoples. Barroso said that “cinema speaks a universal language. It has the same meaning and importance for all people, irrespective of their national, cultural or social roots. Films highlight diversity, whilst underlining values, feelings and the main needs we share as human beings”. He also highlighted the importance of freedom of expression for artists and people and compared Czechoslovakia's struggle for freedom in 1989, the subject of one of the films shown at the festival (“Citizen Havel”), with the struggle for democracy in Mongolia, which began the same year. Barroso said that he was proud of Europe's cultural diversity, as shown in its cinema: “European cinema is an image of Europe, an image that needs to be cherished, developed and promoted”. He said that he hoped that European cooperation in the domain of cinema would continue, particularly with Mongolia through the Creative Europe programme, following on from the MEDIA Mundus programme before. (IL/transl.fl)